The Apple versus Android battle continues to grow as Smart Phones become increasingly important in our everyday lives. With the advent of assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby, and other apps, smart phone users rely on this technology in almost every aspect of life.
Mobile Payments, the ability for a cardholder to make a credit card payment using data stored on a smart phone, is becoming a very popular form of payment.
As Smart Phone technology advances, retailers are being forced to adapt as well. Mobile Payments, the ability for a cardholder to make a credit card payment using data stored on a smart phone, is becoming a very popular form of payment.
So, what are the different forms of Smart Phone Mobile Payments and how can a business accept credit cards using this technology?
Android Pay and Apple Pay:
Android Pay and Apple Pay essentially use a technology called Near Field Communication, or NFC. This enables a smart phone to interact or securely communicate with another device in close proximity. Think of it like creating its own Wi-Fi connection to another device.
During the payment process, Android Pay and Apple Pay send secure, encrypted virtual card information to an NFC Enabled Credit Card Machine or POS System. Card Issuers must sign agreements with Android Pay and Apple Pay to enable this feature for their cardholders.
Samsung Pay:
Samsung Pay works on the same premise, but can also transmit data to the Credit Card Processing device using Magnetic Secure Transmission or MST if NFC is unavailable. MST allows the Samsung phone to emulate an chip based credit card and pass card information to a contactless reader on a Credit Card Terminal or POS System with or without NFC Technology. As with Apple Pay and Android Pay the card issuers must be registered for this to work.
To accept Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Samsung Pay these types of credit card processing transactions securely, business owners must have specialized Merchant Account applications along with advanced Credit Card Terminals or POS Devices.
What it means to you as a retailer:
For retailers, the transition to mobile payments is as a good thing as transaction processing is much faster and fraud from stolen credit cards is reduced significantly.
If you are unsure if you are set up to accept Mobile Payments, or would like to learn more, please reach out to us at 1-866-964-1622 or sales@1nps.com.